Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

1958

Joseph Saddler – a.k.a. Grandmaster Flash – is born in Barbados, West Indies. His family will migrate to The Bronx, New York, where he grows up.

1960

Nathaniel Glover – a.k.a. Kidd Creole, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City. Keith Wiggins – a.k.a. Cowboy, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City.

1960

Keith Wiggins – a.k.a. Cowboy, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City.

1960

Eddie Morris – a.k.a. Mr. Ness and Scorpio, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City.

1961

Melvin Glover – a.k.a. Melle Mel, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City.

1963

Guy Todd Williams – a.k.a. Raheim, of the Furious Five – is born in New York City.

1974

Grandmaster Flash begins deejaying at house and block parties in the South Bronx.

1976

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five break out beyond The Bronx with a milestone performance at Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom.

1979

“Superrappin’,” the first 12-inch single by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, is released on Enjoy Records.

1980

“Freedom,” Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s debut release for SugarHill Records, enters the R&B chart, where it will peak at #19.

1981

“Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel,” a groundbreaking 12-inch record that introduced Flash’s dizzying cutting and scratching techniques to much of the world beyond New York City’s five boroughs, enters the R&B chart, where it will peak at #55.

1982

“The Message,” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, enters the singles charts, where it will peak at #4 R&B and #62 pop.

1983

“White Lines (Don’t Don’t Do It),” credited to Grandmaster and Melle Mel, enters the R&B chart, where it will peak at #47.

1984

“Beat Street Breakdown,” by Grandmaster Melle Mel and the Furious Five – taken from the soundtrack to the film Beat Street – enters the R&B chart, where it will reach #8.

1987

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five reunite to record On the Strength, their first album in five years, which is released in April 1988.

1988

Grandmaster Flash begins a four-year run as musical director for HBO’s The Chris Rock Show.

1989

Cowboy (Keith Wiggins), of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, dies of drug-related causes at age twenty-eight.

2004

Grandmaster Flash receives the DJ Vanguard Award from Bill Gates for being the first to use turntables as musical instruments.

2005

Grandmaster Flash receives the RIAA’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland.

2005

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are among the honorees at the second annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors ceremony.